Grade Level: 5th

NGSS Core Ideas/Science and Engineering Practices:a

Day #1 Introduction to the Engineering Design Process

Objective(s):
Students will understand the Engineering Design Process and be able to connect it to
Aerospace Engineering.

Materials:
Mystery Bag #1: Pom Pom Launchers
Pom Poms
Large Index Cards
Paper Drinking Cups
Tape
Drinking Straws
Popsicle Sticks
Rubber Bands
String
Paper Clips
Direction Page
Brown Paper Bag
Mystery Bag #2: Marble Run
Marbles
Tape
Cardboard Tube
Large Index Cards
Large Popsicle Sticks
Paper Clips
Direction Page
Brown Paper Bag
Mystery Bag #3: Bridges
Pipe Cleaners
Popsicle Sticks
Masking Tape
Straws
Scissors
Box
Direction Page
Brown Paper Bag
5E Plan for Lesson (might not use all 5Es)
Engage:
YouTube Video Clip from Apollo 13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egWvQuT5TCU

Discussion Questions
What is Engineering?
What is Aerospace Engineering?
What kind of problem did they have to solve?
What did they do to solve it?
Explore:
Engineering Exploration Activity
Students will be put into groups (preferably already done before we get there)

 Each group will be given an engineering mystery bag. There are 3 different options.
Optimum would be to have 6 groups with 2 groups doing the same mystery bag.
Students will be presented with already prepared engineering mystery bags that include
a short story that their engineering design will help to solve.
Students will use the materials to engineer a solution to the problem presented in the
story (Give about 20-30 minutes to complete this task)
Students will present their solutions to the class and how they went about designing
their project, how they got to the result etc.
Explain:
Discuss the Engineering Design Process
As students are presenting their solutions and engineering designs to the engineering
mystery bags, ask open ended questions that will lead to a discussion about the
Engineering Design Process.
What was the first thing you did?
Did you test your design?
After you tested it, did you make any changes?
Did you succeed the very first time you tried or did you have to make modifications?
Students should be able to recognize after they all present how they developed their
engineering solutions that they all naturally followed a similar pattern. This will lead to
the presentation of the definition and process of the Engineering Design Process.
Engineering Design Process
Present Poster and discuss how this process matched what they did during their own
engineering explanation.
Day #2 Parachute-Making using the Engineering Design Process
Objective(s):
Students will use the Engineering Design Process to create parachutes that would help
a spacecraft safely re-enter Earths atmosphere and land on the surface.
Students will test and evaluate their designs, continually using the Engineering Design
Process.
Students will show their final product and relate this experience to the outside world,
being able to explain how Aerospace Engineers use these techniques in their jobs.

Materials:
For groups testing canopy size:
3 clips
3 sizes of paper coffee filters
12 pieces of 24 string
Masking tape
ruler
For groups testing canopy material:
3 clips
1 circle template out of cardboard
piece of trash bag

piece of sheer fabric

medium coffee filter
12 pieces of 24 string
Masking tape
ruler
For groups testing line length:
3 clips
3 medium coffee filters
4 pieces of string, 10 each
4 pieces of string, 16 each
4 pieces of string, 24 each
Masking tape
ruler
Scissors
Handouts for each students
- How to design a parachute
- Observations hand out
- Summary of parachutes
Loads
1 sheet of butcher paper per group
Markers

5E Plan for Lesson (might not use all 5Es)

Explain:
Introduce the basic Aerospace Engineering concepts that students will need to know
before they can start to design their parachutes.
Gravity
Air Resistance
Cartoon that explains these concepts
We will demonstrate dropping the load from above our head to the ground without a
parachute, and with a parachute and ask students to make observations.
Elaborate:
Building Parachutes!
Students will be spilt into groups of 6, each group will be given a different variable to
test. Within each group partners will work together to build one of the assigned
parachutes. They will be giving a handout of the basic design to follow, but they will also
be given some freedom to color, decorate, etc, to make it their own.
The three different variables are: Canopy size, Canopy material, and line length.
The students will be given a bag of materials, their variable, and 3 handouts on how to
make a parachute, their observations of the falls, and a summary of their findings.

 They will have 10 minutes to create their parachutes and personalize them

Evaluate:
We will tell the class inside what we are going to do next, then we will go outside to test
the parachutes. Each group will send one representative with all three of their
parachutes with one of the teachers to drop the parachutes (depending on where we
are dropping from) Each student will bring their observation sheet and a pen outside.
We will drop 3 from each group at a time and the entire class will count out loud how
many seconds it takes for the parachutes to drop.
While outside students will be counting and watching the parachutes drop, as well as
writing down their observations of what is happening with the different ones.
Once all have been completed we will return to the classroom and have students
compare within their groups their findings
They will come up with key ideas and observations and summarize them on their
summary sheet.
We will have students draw a labeled diagram of their findings on a large piece of
butcher paper, the class will then do either a share out or a gallery walk.
Time permitted we could have students work to create their own parachute with all of
the new things they learned, they are given the tools, but no parameters and then we
will test to see whose is the most successful.

Identify where in your lesson you find engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate